Meet The Team

MICHAEL ROCHE

My first real introduction to hockey in 2008 when my dad bought season tickets to the Blackhawks after someone from the organization cold called him. I had had brief encounters prior to then, Chicago Wolves games and one year of pee-wee roller hockey, but it never really stuck. I wish it had. Hockey always fascinated me. It seemed like a fun sport but I didn’t really know how to get involved. Nobody I knew played and the Blackhawks may have been non-existent to a young Chicago sports fan in the ’90s and early 2000s. So hockey fell away in favor of football and baseball, out of sight, out of mind. Until that phone call in 2008.

In a move almost unimaginable today, a representative of the Blackhawks ticket office cold called my dad’s office and asked if they would be interested in season tickets. He had heard that the team had just drafted these two young guys that were supposed to be pretty good (Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews) so he went in on them with his partner. It turned out to be a good decision. Two years later I would be sprinting down Michigan Avenue alongside a line of double decker buses while Dustin Byfuglien poured beer onto me during the Blackhawks victory parade. It was one of the best days of my life. I was hooked on hockey.

I remained a Blackhawks fan during their run in the 2010s and remain so today. However, they are no longer the only team in my heart. Since graduating college in 2014 I’ve moved around a lot. One of those moves landed me in Las Vegas. During my time out west I came to love Sin City. It was one of my favorite places to live and it still holds a special place for me. It didn’t take long for me to become a Golden Knights fan then. Watching the Knights elevate a city that usually doesn’t get great press into the national spotlight was something special. Call me a band wagon fan if you want but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.